Star Bound Sorcerous

Munching on a delicious pastry, Bastion casually strolled down the narrow corridors of the cube. Despite being a remote trading hub on the edges of the endless storm, the place was bustling with activity. Merchant stalls lined either side of the main corridors, each merchant shouting for attention, eager to buy or sell wares. 

Humming a jaunty tune he glanced up at the ceiling. If not for the transparent roof, which showed the currents of the endless storm, it could have been just any other market. The stall owners tried to get his attention, but he ignored their shouts. Their wares were tempting, but he had bigger fish to fry.

 They had returned from the Dark Platea a few days ago for resupply and would head back out soon enough.

Having Zee go missing was concerning. Even with that distrustful ghost, Kur Zul assuring them she was still alive, Bastion was worried.

That flaky ghost claimed she was in the deeper regions of the endless storm. That fact alone was more than a bit troubling. The outer reaches were dangerous enough. Venturing deeper was a recipe for disaster.

He sighed. This was what he got for dating someone with a penitent for causing trouble. Knowing her, she had probably messed around with a spatial gate.. Again.

For someone who constantly preached about the dangers of gate travel, she sure was quick to up and use it. Bastion shook his head. She probably had a good reason for it, otherwise Zee wouldn't have taken that kind of risk.

This wasn't the first time she had unexpectedly disappeared.

 At Least this time, they had Kur Zul around, and could use his connection to find her. Unlike previous times she had vanished, they actually knew where she was. 

That's why they had returned to the cube. Before they went to retrieve her, they needed to resupply and hopefully get some reinforcements.

Venturing into the deeper currents of the endless storm was not something one did lightly. Despite Greg and Allison stepping into the D grade, none of their team had too much confidence they would survive the trip without backup.

 And that was why Bastion was on his way to make a deal with people who would likely try to kill Zee given the chance. They probably didn't look too kindly on him either, being an up jumped commoner and all. That was okay, though. Bastion knew just the thing to get these uppity nobles off their asses.

The front door to a pub burst open, and the sounds of raucous laughter echoed out. Despite being in the cube, on the outskirts of the endless storm, it was a tavern just like any other.

Plenty of wine, hard liquor, and scantily clad women plying their trade. The only difference was that even the patrons and staff were at least early E-grade cultivators. Even the attendants would be like royalty back on Iztara, simply because of their rank. 

Amidst wandering cultivators and adventurers who dared venture into the endless storm, they were average workers.

You might think the elevated ranks of the patrons would cause the establishment's issues. That did happen on occasion, but it was unwise to cause trouble. These kinds of places made a lot of money and could afford the protection of stern faced veteran cultivators as guards. Both guards were early D grade, with blood-drenched auras that spoke of years of exploring the endless storm.

Causing a problem could get you thrown out on your ass if not careful, which meant most didn't cause too much trouble. Back home, the patrons here might live like kings, but here, all their rank did was make them spend more ether crystals to get drunk. 

Bastion took the room in with a practiced ease, the scent of strong liquor and smoke wafting to his nose. A few delicate auras probed him, quickly retreating once they met a solid wall that was his defenses. 

He pretended not to notice the intrusion. After all, it was common practice amongst the less reputable sort.

 His quarry was, of course, not in the front room, but a private booth in the back.

An aide standing near the back of the tavern opened a door and let him in, giving him a slight bow before retreating. The scent of pastries, perfume and fine wine filled his nose as he stepped into the private room.

Everyone at the secluded table looked up, some even recognizing him. Most of their gazes quickly turned from curiosity to veiled contempt. There were six in total, each a face he recognized. How could he not? 

They were all contenders in the fight for the imperial throne, who he was supposed to either kill or convince to back Zee. Amongst the group, Draveroc was already a supporter. Having one on his side wasn't all that comforting. Bastion still had a long way to go, before reaching his goal and keeping his head. The emperor's threat to make him disappear if he didn't succeed was a constant in the back of his mind.

His train of thought was interrupted as one of the heirs spoke, not bothering to hide her contempt.

"What is a mere merchant doing here? This is a meeting for the heirs only," Lyla Farsaic said, eying Bastion with disdain. She was a thin, diminutive woman, with a rapier at her hip, her round face scrunched up in a scowl. 

He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as another beat him to the punch.

At the head of the table, Mercy, a hulking brute, leaned her scarred elbows on the table.

"Haven't you put it together already, Lyla? Bastion Grey is the one who set up this meeting. At first, I thought it was Tavza, but Draveroc's involvement, plus his timely arrival, says otherwise," Mercy said, eying Bastion thoughtfully.

Bastion smiled and performed a half bow. He always knew she was smarter than her brawny appearance led on. 

"Well said Lady Mercy. I'm not surprised you deduced so much, given your reputation," Bastion said. 

Instead of calming them, the tension in the room grew at his words. As if to knock him down a peg or two, several of the heirs released some of their potent aura.

It was like a mountain was suddenly being pressed down on his shoulders, with blades being unsheathed despite the fact none of them drew weapons. Bastion grinned a devilish smile, not wilting in the slightest much to the ire of some of them. This was just another day in the office for him.

A tall, rail-thin man with a wispy beard stood, his chair grinding on the floor. With his sharp features, he almost looked like a weasel.

"How presumptuous… I have heard of you Bastion Gray… You are just a commoner, a merchant clinging desperately onto the thigh of your betters. What could you have to offer that we cannot already get? This is a waste of time, I am leaving," Enric Farsaic said. 

There was a loud thunk as a pouch clanked onto the table, hundreds of gleaming Ether crystals spilling out.

 "Do you think a little wealth will impress us?" Enric scoffed. 

Despite his earlier statement, the eyes of everyone, including Enric, gleamed with greed at the wealth on display.

Bastion gave a helpless shrug. "I suppose my meager wealth is nothing to people such as yourselves." As if to prove that statement wrong, he slid a small lacquered box thudded onto the table. There was a sharp inhale of breath as its polished lid swung open. The enticing energies of a middle-quality peak E-grade natural treasure filled the room, the temperature dropping as ice started forming on the walls. 

Bastion grinned, stuffing his hands in his pockets and rocking back casually on his heels. "I may be of common birth, but I have connections. This is just one of the many baubles we found on our most recent excursion. It might be too low a quality for yourselves to form a shard, but your lackeys could benefit from it," Bastion said, with the smile of a greedy merchant.

"What do you want?" Mercy asked, her eyes narrowed at him.

Bastion laughed. He closed the etched box, the eyes of everyone in the room watching him. 

"Showing some treasure was just to get your attention. What we have found far surpasses my treasures in value. I believe Zee has found a key to the eternal throne… That is why we returned to the cube, to get assistance to help her retrieve it. Anyone who is willing to hire on as a hand to help us secure it will be adequately compensated for their assistance," He said.

The eyes of everyone in the room shot open wide, a variety of expressions, from disbelief, to cold calculation crossed their faces. They were trying to decide if he was lying or not, but Bastion was confident. These people would have likely heard his group had returned without Zee. He could be lying, and was likely lying, but would they dare risk that?

Even if they didn't believe him, or thought it might be a trap, many of them would come along.

After all, if they didn't and one of their competitors seized the key, their chances of ascending the throne were next to none. 

He knew it was risky to bring them along, as they would likely betray him the moment they arrived, but that was a hurdle he could overcome once he got there. The thought made him laugh inwardly. Was it really betrayal if you knew they would try and stab you in the back? All that would do was give him a reason to get rid of a few of them. After all, accidents were prone to happen in the deeper regions of the endless storm. 

*********

Deep behind blood gorger lines, in the heart of the blood gorgers domain, a spatial vortex formed. Like a rock hitting the calm surface of a pond, the vortex expanded, and a sleek black ship passed through. Moment's later, the vortex collapsed back upon itself, its immense energies dispersing back into the world river. Despite forming amidst overlapping array fields, the ship went undetected.

Julian held his breath, eying the illusory display closely for any sign they had been discovered.  So far, so good.

"Sendredie, what's our status?" Julian asked.

A feminine voice echoed through the bridge. "The new jamming arrays the emperor provided worked wonders. Our jump was clean. The most those bugs would have detected was some minor background radiation," Sendredie replied.

"Good, now all we have to do is deliver our payload and get out of here," Julian said.

There was a brief pause.

"Remind me again what exactly we have inside our weapons tubes?" Sendredie asked.

Julian grimaced.

"As I said the last hundred times you asked, I don't know what those weapons are. All I know is that each is a relic class weapon that will bring the blood gorger heart worlds to their knees," Julian said.

He sounded confident, but he was just as uncertain as Sendredie was. Julian was loyal to the Lorrocan empire, but was this the right response?

Wasn't this going too far? Sure the blood gorgers had reduced Draug to a desolate wasteland, but this… He was lying when he told Sendredie he didn't know what they were carrying.

Julian knew exactly what these relic's would do, and it made him hesitate. There was no taking back an arrow once it was launched from a bow. If he released these weapons, there was no going back. 

The weight was heavy on his shoulders, his mind racing as the Waivers Terror drew within range of their mark. They had overcome insurmountable odds to reach even this far, sacrificing a lot to get this chance. Unleashing this first weapon might not be the right course, but he didn't really have many other options. The blood gorgers needed to pay for the slaughter of billions of Lorrocan's. They needed to be shown the cost, so they wouldn't dare do it again.

Strangely, it felt almost too easy, as they reached their firing vector without resistance. Their jamming arrays, and cloaking field kept them hidden, a silent predator approaching its prey.

The planet Gorgon loomed on the display, Grey, green and brown against the backdrop of space. It was one of the first planets to be colonized by the Blood Gorgers. It was just one of the planets where they first crafted their society by dominating the natives, showing they had what it took to expand amongst the stars.

From there, they spread their iron fisted rule out into the nearby systems, conquering hundreds of planets and subjugating their peoples. Gorgon was a bustling planet, a hub of blood gorger society and history for millennia. It would be a true shame to reduce that all to rubble.

 His hand hovered above an icon, hesitating to activate the array that would release the first of five relic-class weapons. Julian wouldn't lose any sleep for the ones in charge dying. His only hesitation was that this weapon didn't care about the normal people down there. Many of those people were likely just like his family, just people trying to make their way through this messed up world. Many of them likely had no idea the level of suffering their rulers had inflicted upon the Lorrocan's.

Julian took a deep, calming breath, hardening his heart. Pressing the activation button felt like lifting a mountain, a deep weariness washing through his bones. The ship didn't even shutter as its payload was released. 

"Weapon away. Thirty seconds to impact," Sendredie said, her voice serious for once. 

Julian's mouth went dry, as a small icon image on the illusory display streaked towards Gorgan with incredible speed. Its rapid approach didn't go unnoticed. Once released, the weapon was like a beacon to anyone with enhanced senses.

To the people watching for threats using the array network, it must have lit up like a sun. Layer upon layer of defenses were activated around Gorgon, each enough to stop a finisher from a C grade cultivator. Barriers that were painstakingly crafted by the best ritualists and etch masters in all the Blood Gorgers domain crumbled like they were made of glass.

As the weapon drew closer, immense waves of power radiated from its vessel. A dampening field blanketed the inner star system, restricting all forms of gates, or teleportation, forcing those too slow to escape to watch with horror as it approached. The layered defenses around the planet crumbled, as the weapons released a shimmering field that ripped them apart like they were paper.

The fleet stationed in orbit moved to intercept, but the weapon was moving too quickly, outrunning their attempts to shoot it down.

Like a falling meteor, the weapon streaked through the atmosphere, impacting the planet near its most populous city. A blinding, eyes searing flash lit up the display, the entire planet disappearing in an apocalyptic explosion. The explosion was like a star being born, billions of lives snuffed out in an instant.

It was a level of destruction that dwarfed anything he had ever seen, magnitudes stronger than anything a peak C grade cultivator like himself could unleash.

The planet of Gorgon disappeared in a blinding flash, the planet cracking in two by a devastating sheering field. As if in slow motion, both halves crumbled in on themselves as the planet's gravity kept its mass together.

Julian watched on with cold detachment, the weight of all those deaths heavy on his shoulders.

He had killed a lot of people over his long life, but this was something beyond that. This kind of indiscriminate slaughter made him no better than the enemy. 

Despite whether he was right or wrong, such a thing went against the fundamental laws of the universe. There was a price for this kind of indiscriminate slaughter. He grimaced as his aura shifted.

It was as if the universe itself was marking him, planting a seed of foul rot in his inner world. It was a rot that could take centuries to purge, if it was even possible at all. 

For the next several hundred years, any breakthroughs would call down heavenly wrath so fierce the mere thought gave him chills. This was one of the main reasons why high ranking cultivators didn't go around indiscriminately wiping out low grade cultivators.

It could help your skills advance using the sheer quantity of slaughter, but, a seed of vile rot would infect your inner world, and it would be nearly impossible to rank up until you removed it. 

Julian pushed aside the thought. Exterminating a good portion of the officers and noble clans of blood gorger high command was worth it. There was movement out of the corner of his eye as Sendredie stepped up beside him.

"Are we really going to use more of these things?" Sendredie asked, her tone disturbed. 

Julian glanced over at the woman, eying her expression, which was for once, deadly serious. There was a long silence before he spoke.

"We have four more of these relics in our weapons bays. One planet is not enough. We need to break their will to fight," Julian replied coldly. 

For a moment, he thought she might chastise him, but she didn't. 

"I see.. This time went smoothly, but I doubt the next raid will be this easy. The blood gorgers may be hot headed but they aren't stupid. Next time, they will be ready for this kind of attack. They know we are here now. If we keep going, it is likely suicide. We will be walking right into a trap," Sendredie said.

Julian nodded. "That is why I hired you to come along and not one of the emperor's ship captains. Where they would refuse to go, all you see is a challenge," Julian said.

Her serious expression fled, and a manic grin spread across her wild face.

"You know me too well. So what if its probably a suicide mission? If there wasn't any risk, then it wouldn't be any fun," Sendredie said, with an excited laugh.

Julian didn't share the sentiment, but nodded nonetheless. This was why she had the moniker, The Mad Witch. The woman was an absolute maniac, willing to venture where no sane person, with any self preservation, would dare. 

The thought was kind of concerning. If she was insane for doing this suicidal mission, what did that make him? Was he a patriot, or did he too have a few screws loose? It was probably the latter. Her insanity might be rubbing off on him.

*****

The panicked clack of clawed feet on tile filled the opulent halls of the imperial palace. The gorger who rushed inside unannounced was of noble birth, his Kaiton the dark yellow sheen of his tribe.

Without meeting the emperor's gaze, he prostrated himself, all six legs splayed outwards, his antenna slicked back.

"Your eminence, I have urgent news. Gorgon and Fentar have been lost. An enemy warship, it came out of nowhere, unleashing relic class weapons," the messenger shouted. 

Elbious bon Draknus, Oligark, of the blood gorgers domain stood from his throne. 

'What!" He roared, the palace shaking from his fury. 

The messenger and everyone else in the throne room trembled at his fury.

"It's true, your supreme eminence. We suspect multiple Lorrocan ships, with advanced cloaking arrays infiltrating our defenses and unleashing the weapons," the messenger explained, his voice terrified.

Bloodlust oozed from the Oligarchs body, many of the courtiers passing out from the unsteady energy. 

"What is our fleet doing!" Elbious growled.

A towering blood gorger, with the ridged Kiaton of one of the high clans, stepped forward, its posture rigid.

"Eminence, the Rintus clan, and our fleet is at your disposal. Give us the command and we will find and destroy the invaders," the bug said.

Elbious with rage, but his mandibles in agreement. "The Agnus clan has proven themselves incompetent. If you capture, or kill this invader, I will promote the Rintus clan to supreme commanders of the fleet," Elbious said.

"Your will is our command eminence. We shall prove that our fleet is far superior to the Agnus clan,"